1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink supply port sealing cap to be mounted on ink supply ports of inkjet recording apparatus in place of ink cartridges, and ink jet recording apparatus using the ink supply port sealing cap.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among printers, facsimile machines, and copying machines known in the background art, some utilize inkjet recording apparatus for ejecting ink droplets from nozzles of an inkjet head so as to form an image on a recording medium.
Of such apparatus, some is of a chip type in which a recording head is attached directly to a carriage movable forward and backward in a direction crossing the conveyance direction of a recording medium, while other is of a type in which a recording head unit is removably attached to a carriage. Apparatus of either type is often arranged so that ink cartridges are attached directly to a recording head.
In either type of apparatus configured thus, ink cartridges are attached to ink supply ports of a recording head so as to test the image forming operation or the image quality before the apparatus is shipped from a factory. Only ones passing the test are shipped as products. Among them, some products may be shipped in the condition that the recording head unit is filled with ink used for the test, while other products may be shipped in the condition that the recording head unit is filled with a special preservative solution after the ink used for test is eliminated.
In either case, however, when the tested apparatus is shipped in the condition that the ink supply ports are exposed, there is a fear that the ink or the preservative solution charged into the recording head unit leaks out due to the upside-down posture of the inkjet recording apparatus during transportation or storage, or the ink is evaporated during long-term storage, so that a user of the product will fail in forming an image later. Therefore, the ink supply ports are sealed with an ink supply port sealing cap having a flat-plate-like sealing portion or the like at the time of shipment (for example, see JP-A-2003-054000). Incidentally, the ink supply port sealing cap is described as a manifold cap in the document JP-A-2003-054000.
In such an ink supply port sealing cap, a cap portion corresponding to a black ink cartridge and a cap portion corresponding to a color ink cartridge are formed integrally. Accordingly, when the ink supply port sealing cap is mounted in a recording head unit on a manufacturing line, the cap portion corresponding to the black ink cartridge and the cap portion corresponding to the color ink cartridge can be mounted in one work. As a result, the working efficiency can be improved.